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As a child I watched my hometown of Raleigh, NC transform from a sleepy southern capital city to one of the fastest growing places in America. Constant development was a fact of life. My curiosity about the forces that shape cities grew with each new highway, housing development, shopping mall, and office building springing up from the Piedmont’s pine forests and tobacco fields. This curiosity led me to journalism and eventually planning.
I suspect many planners have similar stories, but certainly not all. Some are from places like Flint, Michigan where my father grew up, or one of several other so-called “Rust Belt” communities large and small that are seeing little or no economic and population growth. These are places where terms like “smart growth” or “sustainability” take on different meanings. They are also places where the solutions are not as obvious as the problems.

Recently our work has taken us to several of these places, including Uhrichsville, Ohio; Williamson, West Virginia; and Salamanca, New York. Each of those small cities has experienced a boom followed by a long economic plateau or decline. Uhrichsville once had more than 30 plants turning out clay sewer pipes, flues, and tiles while Salamanca was a booming railroad town. Today Uhrichsville has two plants and one of Salamanca’s rail depots is a museum while another stands eerily vacant. Back then elected officials and planners probably thought about how to build new infrastructure to accommodate population and economic growth. Those days are largely gone, but the infrastructure remains as a reminder of the past.

Common Issues in Slow/No Growth Communities

Our experiences in these communities have revealed several common challenges that require flexible and creative approaches to planning. Some of the common obstacles are listed here. Of course, this is not an exhaustive list; each place faces other unique issues.

A major industry once drove the economy, but the industry is in decline or gone.

Housing supply exceeds demand, driving down prices and leading to high rates of vacancy.

Municipal planning staff is either too small or does not exist.

The mayor wears multiple hats including town manager, planner, code enforcement officer, and more – all while maintaining a full time career outside of government.

Residents are concerned about young people leaving and not returning to the community.

Municipal finances are stretched thin, leaving little capacity for new public investments.

Despite the daunting challenges, I find our work in these communities to be particularly rewarding and enjoyable. Unlike larger urban areas, it’s pretty easy to get nearly all of the key players in one room to discuss the community’s challenges and plan for the future. It’s hard to imagine grabbing a drink and shooting a late night round of pool with the mayor of Philadelphia, Atlanta, or Seattle, but it’s a common occurrence when working in small cities and towns. The residents are also friendly and eager to be involved in planning. I’ve never seen a larger turnout for a public meeting than the crowd that showed up in Williamson, WV; and many of them even brought a dish to share with their fellow citizens. Clearly one of the most important ingredients for problem solving – collaboration - is firmly in place.

Identifying and Building Upon Existing Assets

But viable solutions to their common problems are not as easy to identify. Planners have developed many well tested ideas about how to address the issues that come with urban growth and development. But I would argue

that less attention has been paid to places that are economically contracting. Regardless of which strategies these communities choose to start improving livability, I think their existing assets must be part of the solution. These communities all have large sunk investments in their infrastructure. They also typically have “good bones,” or the elements of the public realm – wide sidewalks, street grid pattern, mature street trees, front porches, back alleys, and a mix of land use types in close proximity – that many suburban communities are now trying to replicate. These communities also tend to be unique, with a distinct look and feel that leaves visitors feeling like they have been someplace unlike any they have ever seen. Some of the communities we have worked with are tapping into their rich cultural heritage by supporting museums, festivals, parks, and markets that share this culture and attract visitors. Meanwhile, some cities and towns have started making far more difficult choices about providing services in some parts of the town while retreating from others.

As the many parts of the nation continue to struggle in the aftermath of the Great Recession, the time is right for planners to focus more energy on these communities. The American Planning Association has a Small Town and Rural Planning Division that is a good place to get started learning about promising ideas and strategies. While planning in slow or no growth areas may be unfamiliar for many of us, the rewards are just as great.

Not long ago a reporter called me. She had gotten word at some conference that interesting things were happening in Randolph County, West Virginia. She heard that the Randolph County Housing Authority staff had received HUD community challenge grants and were using these and other matching funds to embark on a variety of sustainability and livability initiatives. They had conducted a transit study, a housing study, and some neighborhood mobility studies; studies I had worked on and thus her call to me. Still, she asked, what's so special or different about this place. It was a logical "so what" reporter question.

"Where do you live?" I inquired.
"Los Angeles."
"Have you ever been to West Virginia?"
"Sorry, no," she replied.

Ah, where to begin? She sorely needed some context. Rural Randolph County is in the heart of the Allegheny highlands, a 1000 sq mile county, with 28,000 people - 8000 of which live in the City of Elkins. It is rural, and not near any major metropolitan area. It faces many challenges that other Appalachian communities do, poverty, lack of economic opportunities. Many industries are natural resource based, wood, coal, agriculture, tourism and recreation. Like many Appalachian communities, the people are resilient, proud, hard-working and possess a hearty I-can-do-this individualism. Survivability is a more common theme than sustainability.

Where Seldom is Heard

From a planning perspective the county is still somewhat like the wild west. A comprehensive plan was attempted a few years back, but the process was aborted due to some outspoken local opposition. Zoning exists in the city, not the county. There are no planners on staff, only code officials, assessors and administrators. The efforts to put Randolph on a path to sustainability (view the Vimeo video below for their own words), I argued, is in itself a remarkable 'so what' difference. They are operating in an environment that is traditionally hostile to planning and so far have had positive results, and that itself should partly answer her so what question. But there is more.

They are thinking about the aging population, about housing needs, about how people will get around, and whether can they walk, ride bike or take transit. Is housing where it needs to be? Is it near services, work and amenities. Are neighborhoods accessible to destinations? Is the housing stock diverse enough to allow for youth to stay, for older people to live, for employees of potential companies to find housing? They are thinking about the land use, housing and transportation systems and framework. They are talking with people in the community. They are doing all this, and have the general support of local elected officials, and have generated much enthusiasm.

Good Article, But Here's My Take

In my estimation she did a good job with her article. She did her homework. She found a hook, namely the Silver Tsunami (link to article) aspect of how they are wrestling with plans to cope for a fast aging population. The article is informative. The video (below) produced by AmeriCorps volunteer with RCHA, is the story in their own words, and worth the view. But my personal take away from this effort is that the RCHA staff are taking initiative. They are making a lot happen with little, and are embracing a holistic approach to sustainability that looks beyond just housing availability and affordability. They are working nimbly and humbly and are managing to move things forward for Randolph County, and are taking a long-term view of both issues and solutions. They are thinking in a proactive and integrated fashion, and that for me is the "big deal" answer here.